MEET YOUR

TEACHERS

ALEX CAPLINGER

 200 ERYT/YACEP GIVE Yoga, 100hr Untamed Wisdom Meditation TT, Reiki Level 1

  • Alex first discovered yoga in her early twenties while on a mission to experience life to the fullest. After years of wandering the earth wearing many different hats: property appraiser, professional baker, slam poet, bartender, festie kid, raver, and wellness camp counselor, Alex recognized that yoga was the one constant in her life that kept her grounded and true to herself. In the summer of 2020 Alex completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training at GIVE Yoga with teachers Nicole Klasa and Angela Bompiani. She credits these teachers and the GIVE community for encouraging her to be her most authentic self and lead from the heart.

    Alex’s teaching style is powerful and challenging yet grounded and intentional. She believes that a physically challenging yoga practice can be a gateway to deep personal transformation. Alex empowers her students to play with new poses and transitions to bring them into the possibility of the present moment. Her classes celebrate the joys and difficulties of the human experience, and she draws on her own personal experiences and blunders as inspiration for her teaching. When not in the yoga studio, Alex is the Director of Operations for Pangaea Productions 360, a music festival production company. While this commitment often requires her to travel for extended periods of time, when she’s on the road, she’s always dreaming of coming home to AYA Yoga.

MARLA ARANDA

200 ERYT/YACEP GIVE Yoga, Reiki Level 2, 50hr  Pranayama with Linda Oshins

  • Marla is a multidisciplinary teacher and lifelong student, holding certifications as a 200hr RYT, Reiki 2 Practitioner, 50hr Pranayama, and slowly working towards her 200hr Katonah Certification. Her journey with yoga began during a major life transition, leading her to rediscover herself through practice. Marla believes yoga is a portal to self-awareness, offering space to witness habits, cultivate kindness, and create mindfulness. With an intuitive approach, she blends pranayama, meditation, and asana to guide students into deeper connection and healing. Through her teachings, Marla empowers others to tap into their inner magic and support themselves both on and off the mat.

JESSICA ZITESMAN

500 ERYT/YACEP GIVE Yoga, 200hr Kundalini TT Through Yoga Farm Ithaca, Reiki Level 1

  • Jess began practicing yoga in her late teens as a grounding practice during a time of personal transition. She was drawn not only to the physical benefits of yoga, but also to the mental clarity and self-awareness it cultivated.

    Her teaching style is intentional, nurturing, and centered on creating space for students to meet themselves exactly where they are. Jess encourages practitioners to honor their emotions and tailor their practice to support their present state, offering slow, thoughtful flows that invite presence and embodiment.

    She completed 500 hours of training at GIVE Yoga, studying under Leah Westwater, Nicole Klasa, and Angela Bompiani. Her teaching is guided by the principle of maintaining a beginner’s mind and remaining a lifelong student.

    In recent years, Jess’s work has been shaped by her personal experiences with grief, which have deepened her commitment to authenticity, compassion, and helping others explore their own healing journeys.

200 YTT, Katonah Yoga 200 YTT, Somatic Therapy and Breath-work Facilitation

ANASTASIJA KATCYNA

  • Anastasija approaches her practice with honesty and teaches as a way to keep learning. She sees the body as the most accessible and versatile tool for self-inquiry—a map that helps us navigate toward well-being. Through movement and breath, she guides students to uncover what is hidden, awaken what longs to be expressed, and live with greater freedom. For Anastasija, the practice is a way to better understand how we inhabit our inner “house,” helping us to organize ourselves more clearly, recognize outdated patterns, build new pathways, and align with a higher vision of joyful living.

    Her background includes a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, an additional 200-hour certification in Katonah Yoga, and training in Somatic Therapy and Breathwork Facilitation.

NICOLE KLASA

500 ERYT/YACEP Baptiste Institute, 500 ERYT/YACEP through Kia Miller at Radiant Body Yoga, 200 RYT through Tami Scheider at Cleveland Yoga

  • Nicole’s relationship with yoga began as a casual flirtation in high school, only to deepen into a profound connection during her college years while navigating the tumultuous waters of grief, loss and life’s changes. Yoga became Nicole’s sanctuary, a place where she found solace, healing and a newfound sense of empowerment, emerging with a deep appreciation for the transformative power of yoga.

    As a devoted, disciplined and passionate teacher, Nicole holds two 500-ERYT + YACEP certifications and brings over a decade of experience, having shared teachings with thousands of students across the globe. Drawing inspiration from the rich traditions of hatha, power vinyasa, and kundalini yogas, her classes are a vibrant blend of physical postures, breathwork and meditation, designed to awaken the body, mind and spirit. Beyond daily classes, Nicole is passionate about training teachers, curating and sharing transformative retreats, programs, workshops and community experiences.

    Beyond the mat, Nicole is a traveler, pesca-flexa-terian, nature enthusiast, mama to two doggos, plant babies, and a new(ish) baby girl! She loves exploring, thrifting, writing, crafting, studying, learning, playing, anything that involves sunshine, and spending time with loved ones. For Nicole, yoga is not just a practice, but a potent life tool for self-discovery, self-empowerment, presence and vitality in everyday life.

SARAH TAYLOR

200 YTT (Yoga on High)

  • Sarah Taylor discovered yoga at summer camp in 2007, and she's been doing yoga ever since! Her classes are dynamic and creative that meet students where they are. She has taught yoga in the Columbus community since 2018. Classically trained as a singer, she also integrates song into savasana.

    When Sarah is not teaching or practicing yoga, she likes to bake, travel the world, snuggle her cats, and go on long distance runs. You can find her on Instagram at @wonderingsoulsarah.

JOSH HERSHEY

200hr RYT

  • Josh has been practicing yoga for 10+ years, first practicing at music festivals when classes would be held in the mornings, but it took some time for his practice to become a regular part of his life. During a period of injury, he realized how yoga could be used as a means for recovery and from being sedentary. He realized how beneficial the practice was for body and mind regulation and following recovery his practice became consistent.

    After years of a regular home practice he wanted to deepen his understanding of yoga. Josh completed his 200hr certification at Yoga on High in the summer of 2020, and currently is working towards his 500hr certification with Jason Crandell.

    Josh believes in fostering strength, breath regulation, and alignment to create a solid foundation for movement. He describes his style as a blend between subtle and dynamic. He enjoys teaching to a diverse demographic and helping people to feel confident moving in their body, and in a way that’s authentic to them. Follow him on instagram @the_limber_jack to get to know him better on and off the mat!

Taylor Steen

200 RYT

  • Taylor is a creative and movement artist full of passion, life, and adventure. Art and expression have always been a massive part of Taylor's life, and she loves nothing more than sharing the healing practices of art, expression, and yoga with others. At 16, she found yoga during a transformative wilderness therapy experience that led her to Montana for ten years. Through the deep study of yoga and philosophy, Taylor found the practices of pranayama, asana, and meditation as the missing link in her mental health journey as a teenager. Taylor has taught yoga for the past four years in various settings, including hot yoga studios, yoga in the jail, kids' yoga, and yoga for the elderly. Additionally, Taylor has worked with teens in the mental health field, introducing them to art and yoga as a means of healing. Taylor is pursuing her master's in counseling with the goal of expressive arts therapy. Taylor is also an aerialist, pole dance instructor, and metalsmith jeweler. When not at yoga, you can find her soaking up the sun in nature, creating in her studio, and dancing!

Claire Towell

200 hr RYT

  • Claire's yoga practice started as a high school new years resolution... and blossomed into a lifelong journey towards body peace and mental clarity. In Claire's classes you can expect a balance of power and levity with moments of moving meditation tied to your breath (and a kickass playlist). A dedication to yoga foundations allows Claire to push seasoned yogis while still teaching a beginner-friendly flow.

Julia Obogeanu

500 RYT

  • Julia Obogeanu is a yoga teacher dedicated to creating a space where students can reconnect with themselves, find stillness, and cultivate a deeper sense of awareness. As a 500-hour certified instructor, Julia approaches yoga as a practice of self-inquiry and transformation, inviting students to explore movement, breath, and mindfulness in a way that feels both grounding and expansive.

    Believing that yoga is for every body, Julia emphasizes presence over perfection and encourages students to listen to their inner wisdom. Julia’s teaching is rooted in the philosophy that yoga extends far beyond the mat—it is a way of being, a path to balance, and a tool for navigating life with more grace and intention.

    Through guided asana, meditation, and breathwork, Julia hopes to foster an environment where students feel seen, supported, and inspired to deepen their own practice—on and off the mat.

Angie Vera

500hr RYT with a focus in Yoga and Ayurveda

  • Angie found yoga during a season of disconnection — from her work, her body, and even the version of herself she thought she was supposed to be. What began as a practice became a pathway home. Yoga offered clarity when life felt heavy and grew into a source of emotional, mental, and physical support. Inspired by her first teacher, Liv Dunn, she was drawn deeper by the philosophy and empowered by the movement, eventually finding herself on the path of teaching.

    Today, yoga is her anchor — a steady place she returns to in joy, in grief, and in all the honest spaces in between. The greatest edge in her practice isn’t always physical, but mental: the challenge of meeting her own thoughts with awareness and compassion. Off the mat, yoga lives in her relationships, in her capacity to respond rather than react, and in her intention to move through life with mindfulness and care.

    Her teaching style is intuitive and responsive — sometimes structured, sometimes fluid, but always rooted in intention. She hopes students leave class feeling more attuned to themselves, whether that means clarity, strength, tenderness, or simply presence. For her, yoga isn’t about perfection or always arriving in light — it’s about being met where you are, even in the mess. That’s the magic.

    When she’s not teaching, you can find her at home with her sweet cat Jack, tending to plants, playing with watercolors, behind a camera lens, or catching up with a friend. What lights her up most is joy — especially the kind that comes through honest connection: a shared laugh, a kind gesture, a real moment.

Ali Ianni

500 ERYT/YACEP through Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga, 500 ERYT/YACEP through Kia Miller at Radiant Body Yoga, 200 RYT through Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga

  • Ali teaches as a way to honor & share the practices that she’s found support in & offer others their own taste of the embodied state of yoga.

Bailey Hanley

200-RYT

  • From her earliest memories, yoga has been woven into the fabric of Bailey's life. Beginning her practice at age five through VHS tapes mailed by her grandfather, Bailey's connection to wellness runs deep. This foundation proved transformative when, at fifteen, she overcame a debilitating health challenge through mindfulness, movement, and nutrition—an experience that would shape her life's purpose and guide her toward formal education in nutrition and holistic wellness. Now a certified holistic life coach and existential guide, Bailey brings her unique blend of practical expertise and spiritual wisdom to her teaching, drawing from her 10+ years of wellness coaching experience. Her approach to yoga transcends the physical practice, incorporating elements of mindfulness and holistic healing. When she's not teaching, Bailey finds joy in life's simple pleasures—spending time with her children, Lincoln and Vera, expressing her creativity through cooking and art, and fostering meaningful connections with friends.

BRADY MCCURDY

200hr YTT x2 (Baptiste and Barkan Method), and Baptiste Level 1

  • Brady discovered yoga while studying as a business student at Ohio State. Within months, he left behind weightlifting and embraced yoga, immersing himself in books and teacher trainings (TT). In 2017, Brady completed his first TT with GIVE Yoga, led by Leah Westwater and Nicole Klasa, who remain among his favorite teachers. Instead of participating in his graduation ceremony, Brady embarked on a one-way journey to Southeast Asia to train with Baron Baptiste in his level one program. This experience propelled Brady into a dedicated yoga practice of his own. He later completed a 200-hour Vinyasa TT at Bluespot Yoga, guided by Staci McCool and Abra Goldman, both of whom greatly influenced his teaching style. Attending one of Brady's classes guarantees a dynamic, breath-focused, and physically challenging experience.

    During the day, Brady works in Commercial Real Estate, acquiring multi-family apartments with Huber Equity Group, based in Bexley. He shares a strong bond with his co-workers. Additionally, he manages several Airbnb properties in the Short North area, deriving pleasure from the design aspect of this work. In his leisure time, Brady enjoys the company of close friends, indulging in stand-up comedy, playing pool, lifting weights, engaging in basketball and pickleball, and going for runs. His natural inclination is to find humor in any situation.

Allison Hannahs

200 RYT

  • Allison is a multidisciplinary artist, guide, and connector, she cultivates spaces for emotional alchemy through breath, stillness, and intuitive movement. Grounded in the practices of pranayama and meditation, her work gently invites you into deeper self-connection and inner presence.

200 hour VYT (Columbus School of Yoga), Yoga Alliance Certified, Advanced Reiki Practicioner, CIP

Gary Erickson

  • Gary believes his life's purpose is to help people heal themselves. To align himself with that intention, he completed 200 hour YTT, is an Advanced Reiki Practioner (working toward becoming a Master), Certified Intuition Practioner and a Whole Life Healing Life Coach with a special focus on healing trauma. Gary blends aspects of these different trainings into his classes with the objective of the students coming away with a full body "feel good" experience in body, mind and soul.